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tv   The Exchange  CNBC  February 28, 2024 1:00pm-2:00pm EST

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12% dividends yield. >> wabtec. rapid transit. which think industrials will keep moving. >> joseph? >> if you are long alphabet, only if you are young, buy some puts, technically breaking down. you're late on ai. >> good stuff. i'll see you in a couple of hours on "closing bell." "the exchange" is now. ♪ ♪ thank you very much, scott welcome to "the exchange." i'm dominic chu. bond market guest says investors are paying too much attention to rate cuts and not enough to something else that could become a head wind for global markets he tells us what that is and what he's buying right now plus, most people probably wouldn't want to live at the gym, but lifetime is throwing its weight behind that strategy. shares are soaring on the back of earnings. the ceo joins us live ahead. and three more names on deck to report, including one that's been under a lot of pressure,
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and that's why our trader likes it that's ahead in earnings exchange but we begin with the markets. it's red across the board as you see right there. the dow currently just about down one quarter of 1% similar for the s&p 500, and the nasdaq 15,950, down one half of 1% meanwhile, it's been a wild ride for bitcoin prices today, which currently stand at $61,000 and change it's up about 7.5% right now at one point, it topped just around $64,000, it touched that level before backing off below $60,000. a wild ride, but it's important, because these are the highest levels going back to near record high levels that we saw back in november of 2021 that was just around $68,800 or so so keep that in mind as we watch bitcoin prices check out the stocks in that bitcoin ecosystem. we're talking names like
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microstrategy, which owns bitcoin. north of $11 billion at this point. marathon digital is one of those miners out there, up big today and coinbase, up 2.5% to 3% right now. we'll start with fresh data on the economy and fresh comments from the fed speakers as we count down to tomorrow's very important pce inflation report steve liesman has the latest details there. steve? >> yeah. dom, thanks. the fed president expects the inflation to return to 2%, but it will be bumpy along the way he expects slower gdp growth we got a gdp report this morning that was slow for the fourth quarter. still strong for the first quarter here williams says the labor market should be returning to normal over time. it is already showing signs of that he says that the journey to 2% inflation is not over and still has a ways to go i don't know if this is significant or not, but last week he talked to axios and
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talked about his expectation that the fed -- it would be appropriate to cut rates this year, but he doesn't mention that maybe that's an oversight. we'll see if he repeats that today. susan colins from the boston fed said the fed is likely to ease policy she does pick up the mantle on that, sees rates declining gradually and expects the economy will slow, but says it's essential not to ease too soon or to wait too long. she does not believe that wage increases are fueling inflation. for now, it looks likethe fed is winning the debate over the rate outlook, both economists and the futures market have come to where the fed outlook is. you can see there, for this year, it's four 6s across the board except for the futures market, just a little below at 4.5%, but just call that even right now. for next year, plenty of time to get there. tomorrow, as you say, dom, we get the pec.
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i think the market is already girded for an above average pce, and we're in this very, very long holding period until we can get those february inflation numbers to gives perhaps motion one way or the other >> is it fair to stay, steve, that the markets are prepared, even if there is a hotter inflation print or even hotter than what some whisper numbers have the market is fairly braced. we're hovering near record highs for the equities this is a good spot, right, given expectations >> i like the way you put that, dom. let's remember that the market has withstood this increase in rates, in other words, and the disappointment on inflation and stayed relatively buoyant. there is tolerance within a certain amount i think a big blowout would obviously be something the market would be concerned about.
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there's a general feeling that some of what we saw in the january numbers, dom, were one-time items i'm looking at march rate cuts written off. may, almost completely written off. and they're starting to have doubts about june, dom, which is down near 65%. remember, this was up near 100% not that long ago. so this later this year mantra that the fed keeps putting out sounds like a back half of the year for me as i listen to them keep saying it's going to be bumpy. i'm interesting to see john williams, if he dropped that phase intentionally or if it was an oversight >> is there a sense right now that this economy does need to have, does require to have interest rate cuts in order to keep things active, or are things in stasis for a good while? >> there is not, dom
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from the minutes last week, and all the fed rhetoric, i do not hear a strong or outspoken or eager dovish wing of the fomc right now. you had schmitt in the first time, the new kansas city fed president, he thinks the fed ought to be be very patient here i don't see anybody itching to cut right now, dom and a direct answer to your question, i do not hear folks saying that we have a big risk of getting this wrong by remaining too tight. but susan collinses, what he said was a balanced statement, not one that suggests she's overly concerned about waiting too long >> steve liesman with the latest on interest rates ahead of the pce tomorrow thank you very much. markets are concerned about the timing of the fed rate cuts, but our next guest says he's worried about something else, that's china's real estate
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problem. joining me now is the vice chairman and head of investment group at aerial investments. charlie, good to see you here. we had an extensive conversation about the interest rate outlook and how that factors but why is the china situation so far removed across the pacific but albeit in the world's second biggest economy, how could it have that many ripple effects that it would really be something to worry about here >> thanks, dom you always want to look at what the market is focused on, and see is the market not focused on something important. right now, the market is very focused on interest rates and the timing we would argue that five years from now, it's not going to make much difference whether we get a cut in rates in march or july or even august. we think we are going to get cuts, so the market is too focused on that topic. the topic it's not focused enough on is china and china, the growth of china over the last 20 years was fueled by construction, much of
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it residential construction. and the market does understand that there is a problem, but it doesn't understand the size of this problem this is the second largest economy in the world, whose growth was fueled by constructing apartment buildings. many of those apartment buildings were used as investment vehicles. they are not occupied. and they were trading at multiples of rent way out of line with the rest of the world. so we have this bubble that is not simple to fix. in the u.s., you had -- in 2007 and 2008, the government came in, bailed out countrywide via mergers, many of the largest providers of mortgage debt were bailed out by the u.s. government. that cannot happen in china, because so much of this is owned by the population, which is used apartment buildings. so we now have people with massive losses that they have not taken on their net worth,
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and that is going to have a big impact on china. frankly, we think for the next five to eight years. this is not a problem that will be fixed in one year. last point is, this is going to affect us because china purchases a lot of raw materials for that construction boom. copper the obvious example. steel, however, is going to be affected by this. i happen to personally think it's not going to have as much impact on oil, because oil is not used in the construction process. but many commodities are going to be hit, and that is not getting the attention we think it deserves. >> they buy a whole heck of a lot of treasury debt, too. you mentioned some of the commodities, raw materials, industries that could be on the frontlines of any kind of decline here. how bad could it be? in your mind, i'm not asking -- i know there's not a crystal ball per se, but when you have a problem like country garden in china, what does that do, does that lead to a 5% to 10% in the
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u.s. markets, or are we going to see something like we saw two to three years ago when things go bad for the tech sector especially? >> yeah, it is hard to put a number here. i would say the good news is that much of the commodity inflation that we got two or three years ago at the beginning of the inflation numbers has already come out of many of these industrial materials. so it is hard to put a number on, but i do think you can be thinking about declines of 10% to 25% in some of the more sensitive names that are sensitive to construction. and then, again, decline in growth in the overall economy in china, which has been so important to global growth. particularly, frankly to the asian economy. it's just going to be less than it has been for the last ten years. the last point to make on this is the demographic trends are absolutely terrible. those are starting to be understood that we are not going
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to have growth in china's population. we are going to have an aging population. that is, again, going to reduce growth in china for a long time. >> oh there is the case to be made for why you would want to de-risk, given some of those head winds. let's go to the other side. there has to be places in the market that could benefit over the course of the say medium to longer term and still represent values that are attractive to put new money to work right now. what types of stocks would those be? >> small and mid-cap value stocks. your listeners will know i'm talking my books since we manage small and mid-cap stocks. the russell 2500 value index is trading at only 13.7 times earnings. very reasonable value. within that, there are a lot of housing stocks in the u.s. that have been hurt by high interest rates by the jump in mortgage rates, names like mohawk, which make tiles and carpeting.
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we think they are attractively priced. the auto industry, there are some auto supply companies like phinia. the internal combustion engine is not dead yet. so small and mid-cap value trading at reasonable prices while the s&p 500 is probably a little stretched here. >> how about on the financial side, we often talk about the investments that you make in banks, we're a year removed from a banking crisis, it percolated a little bit in the last couple of weeks here, months. is there anything attractive on the financial side? >> i do want to own names that are hurt by the inverted yield curve that we have now, because we think that will be gone in a year. so names like goldman sachs. they have big positions that are often long, and they are financed shorter. and so they get hurt by an inverted yield curve. but that, i think, is going to get cured here. so goldman is underearning its
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potential in a more normal interest rate environment. northern trust is a similar structure hurt by the inverted yield curve. so you're going to want to own names here that do well when we return to normal. >> all right. charles, thank you very much, sir. >> thanks, dom. coming up on the show, the growing weight loss market is having ripple effects across multiple industries, including gyms and health clubs, maybe obviously. the ceo of lifetime joins us to discuss with that stock popping 11%. plus, a reality check here on luxury real estate with the ceo of douglas, an inside look at where the ultrawealthy are spending their money and what it says about the overall health of the housing market. "the exchange" is back after this. this is "the exchange" on cnbc.
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♪ ♪ welcome back to "the exchange." here is a premium fitness club lifetime up around 13%, after jumping as much as 20% earlier on, following a beat on both the top and bottom lines. revenue up nearly 20% on a year over year basis. this as demand for those so-called glb-1 weight loss drugs continues to surge, and the company is hoping to capitalize on that trend with a new program offering those glp-1
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drugs to members. for more on this story, let's bring in lifetime founder and ceo. baram, thank you very much for joining us here on "the exchange." this is all the rage right now, and i know that you know this, because we talk about glp-1st drugs ad nauseam these days. as much as the fitness land scape changed given the advent of these drugs? >> it hasn't been as much as the media thinks. i think the drug is a working drug. it's a mega trend. it's here to stay. there's no denial of that. the people who do this obviously they're losing weight. they're also losing a lot of muscle mass, and anybody that's getting the right instruction, they're told that they need to continue to do exercise training, weight training, and making sure that they balance all of this with good nutrition
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and good exercise. so the clubs should be a net positive, particularly positive for us. because these customers are the high-end of the customer, spending $5,000 a month on this drug. they need the appropriate facilities and professionals to help them navigate through the balance of this thing. so for us, it's been all pos positive. >> let's talk about that. the facilities you are operate. you're starting a program where your club members who participate in those clubs or live in facilities that you guys have put up, will now have access to physicians and medical professionals that can help create plans featuring things like glp-1 drugs. take us through the plan there. >> okay. so lifetime for years, we think of ourselves as a high-end leisure company, focused on total health and well-being. so we had the clinics inside of
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our clubs. we have 50, 60 location right now with see pchiropractic and rehabilitation clinics. so we have the ability to launch by lifetime, which allows the people to have a completely integrated exercise, if they need the glp, any sort of longevity program, all packaged in as an invigorated answer, which is what people really need. >> this is also interesting in my mind, because it's not just about these athletic clubs, so to speak. you're also engaged in the development and building of actual housing properties that actually have these types of facilities in them. i know this, because a neighboring town of mine has one under construction right now. i wonder, what is the demand profile for housing featuring
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these types of benefits, opposed to just say the city athletic club or urban athletic club that you have as gyms? >> so when you think about what is naturally and environmentally, intuitively, environmentally friendly is to create an environment, a village where people can live, they can work, they can exercise and get their medical help. so the lifetime living attached with the lifetime athletic club. a big xexample is in chicago, where they developed 900 apartment units, 160,000 square foot beach club, these are hugely successful. faster rent for the apartment buildings, higher rates per square foot and lower attrition rate. and lifetime can dramatically
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change all those kpis. so we are in literally in the pipeline where we talk about building high rises that have the whole village concept. so this is really the way life will shape up in america. more village that has everything for people in closer proximity and less driving. >> we're looking at the pictures behind the shot that you have right here, behind me. you can see the real estate behind you, and the mid high rise thing. the one thing i think about there is interest rates, because you are in real estate. how concerned are you about what's happening with the macro environment right now and the rate picture and the outlook? >> yeah. so we have about 16, 17 million square foot that is already built, leases are fixed within certain -- fixed bumps in them. so the overall inflation or higher interest rates is our
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friend, it's not our enemy. now, that complicates the development a little bit, but not by much. it's nothing that we can't overcome by adjusting the overall equation. so we are building. the incremental -- we have so much margin in our business that an inkremental 1.5% to 2% interest rate temp really for two or three years isn't going to impact our strategy or our growth at all. >> all right. bahram, thank you very much. please update us again soon. >> thank you very much. an estimated 5 million people are already using those glp-1 drugs, but there are still plenty we have to learn about the long-term effects. melissa lee takes a closer look in our documentary, "big shot, the ozempic revolution."
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>> in 2018, novo launched a diabetes drug many used to slim down, ozempic, followed by robelsu, and then wegovy. lily released mongero. >> different companies are trying to combine different mechanisms. >> lily is a leader here, and we plan to make it hard to be caught. >> i believe we have picked the best mechanisms to combine, so even if competitors succeed, we'll still be successful. >> and we're seeing the drug's potential. many illnesses associated with obesity. was there sort of a lightbulb moment when you thought wow, this could be a game changer in terms of how we treat obesiobes? >> when we started to see the data come out with the profound
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weight loss, and in the more recent study showing reductions in cardiovascular risk, i think we will unmask more safety issues. my hope is they're not profound but time will tell. >> you can watch the full documentary premiering tomorrow night at 10:00 p.m. eastern time and pacific right here on cnbc. still ahead, the numbers and narratives to know before paramount, hp and beirkenstock report. but first, cnbc's first-ever change makers list is out, featuring 50 women, transforming business and philanthropy. we'll tell you who's on the list, how we picked them, and all of that when we come back in just 30 cos.send
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today, we unveiling the change makers list, 50 women transforming business and philanthropy. it stanned 17 sectors, including 15 start-up ceos and founders and 11 public company ceos. we have five women deploying new tech, and four women shaking up sports. to put together this list, we wered quantitative and qualitative reach of impact. they have demonstrated transformation, growth, and innovation. many of them taking new
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approaches to fixing broken systems. a number of them are serving female consumers with new options, such as kate rider, who is reimagining women's health care. we have the national women's soccer league chief jess us the b -- jessica burman. we also have several women forging new paths in renewable energy. co-founder and president cathy henin is working to bring g geothermal energy main stream. these change maker stories are inspiring and in some cases very surprising. they showcase adaptability and resilience. dom? >> julia, it looks like a lot of these change makers are in the health care business. why do you think right now the sector is so big? we just talked a lot about it in our last segment. >> that's right. so about 22% of the women on the
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list are in the pharma or health care space. this come do you understand to thefact that women tend to be decision makers when it comes to health care. we have a number of women who are leading the charge in these glp-1s. we have the ceo of weight watchers who made the controversial move to pivot that company to focus on that glp-1 drug. and we also have women who are at eli lilly, and they have been really inhave strumental to ram the production of glp-1 and other life-saving drugs. >> it's like tomorrow's news today. we're looking at those people making an impact down the line. what's next for the franchise? >> we want to keep it up, dom. you can find much more on this list on cnbc.com/changemakers.
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real all of their amazing bios. and april 18th in new york, we celebrate this list. it will be an annual thing every year. we'll highlight 50 new and different names to learn about all these amazing stories. >> there was that qr code if you want to request an invite. julia, thank you very much. we look forward. we'll see you soon. now to tyler mathisen for a cnbc news update. >> dom, thank you very much. demonstrators gathered at the alabama statehouse demanding lawmakers provide ivf patients by guaranteeing legal access. the state supreme court ruled that frozenembryos were considered children, with providers suspending services as they weighed the legal impact of the decision. pope francis was taken to the hospital today. the vatican said that the pontiff, who had the flu recently, went in for testing but did not share more details. this follows a series of health concerns for the pope, the most
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being a hospitalization in june. prince harry lost a court challenge against the british government's decision to deny him a security detail funded by taxpayers after he stepped down from royal duties in 2020. the prince's lawyers argue that the government acted irrationally. he vowed to appeal that decision. dom, back to you. >> tyler mathisen, thank you very much for those updates there. coming up, an inside look at the health of the luxury real estate market. plus, the latest housing data, including how some buyers are getting around those higher interest rates.
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welcome back. mortgage demand is dropping back as rates sit stubbornly high. >> that 7% handle on the 30-year fixed continues to hit mortgage demand. total application volume dropped nearly 6% last week. this as the average rate on the 30-year fixed dropped to 7.04% for loeb loans of 20% down.
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rates are up from the 6% range we saw for much of the winter. so refinance applications dropped 7% for the week. they were 1% lower that an year ago. there are few current bow rrowe that could benefit. home prices are at record highs, and when you add higher interest rates, it just knocks buyers out. dom? >> given today's higher mortgage rates, the numbers you just laid out and the tight supply of homes for sale, how are buyers working the system to still stay competitive and afford that home that they want? >> so dom, we're hearing a lot about concessions and hacks from lenders and real estate agents. first one is seller funded interest rate buydowns on the mortgage. these were nonexistent just a few years ago when rates were low. now they're the number one tool. builders have been doing it, but a seller can buy down the rate for the buyer for one to three
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years with the expectation that rates will drop by then, and then the buyer can refinance. it's much cheaper for the seller than lowering the price of the home to get to that affordable monthly payment. and some lenders are wooing buyers by offering a free refinance when rates come down. the borrower still has to pay taxes but zero leblender fees. another option, proof of cash. it's an incentive to take a buyer's offer. the buyer shows that they have the cash, but they reserve the right to get a mortgage prior to closing if they want. it makes their offer stronger, because it's considered a cash offer and the seller has the guarantee although they don't have to put up the cash. finally, go all cash. that made up 32% of january sales according to the realtors, the highest in nearly a decade. how do you get the cash? some borrow from parents, some might take out a loan.
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and somewill even pool and buy with their friends for a house. and then they take out a mortgage later to get the savings. >> creative financing, for sure, diana. switching gears now to a segment of the housing market showing no sign of a slowdown, luxury real estate. diana laid out some of those points there. according to the latest report, a quarter of america's ultrarich plan to buy another home this year, on top of the, get this, four that they already own. for more, let's brig in the ceo, scott dirken with robert frank. robert, diana laid out what it's like for most of us when we talk about real estate, but this is not the same set of rules that the ultrarich have. >> we have low supply and falling sales, but this group tends to be all cash, so it's a matter of where they see value. so that market has had a little more supply, and more buyers because they're not as relimts
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on interest rates. >> scott, robert lays all this out. i wonder if you could give us the big picture on what's happening with real estate at the high end. >> the very high end hasn't had a hiccup like the rest of the market. so the ultrahigh net worth buyers, they tend to -- they look at that market, but they tend to rely on their own private banking and their own assets to fund everything. so i think they may use it to perhaps get a better deal on something they're buying. so that's paramount. and i think that they know that there are great deals in times like this. so they're taking complete advantage of it. >> and scott, the wealth report, which is out today, shows one in four of the ultrawealthy plan to buy a house in the next year. and lifestyle is their number one priority. that's very different from the past, where prepandemic it was where your job is, where the best education for your kids
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are. how has the pandemic changed the priorities for where the wealthy want to live and buy real estate? >> the pandemic's changed it in a way that most buyers that are looking for that second, third, or fourth home, they realize now that for the most part, they're going to spend 75%, 80% of their time in the home. so the location, the environment, the amenities, branded living is huge now with all the luxury hotel chains. they want to make sure that the experience and most of that experience is at home, will be just as nice in any of the one to five homes they may have. >> that's why we have seen huge price increases in aspen, palm beach, nantucket, what used to be considered resort communities are now full-time communities. i was surprised in the report at the number of americans going overseas. americans right now were the number one buyers of aultra-prie
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real estate in london. it used to be the russians and the saudis, now it's the americans. you see similar in italy, portugal, france. do you see americans going overseas? and what's the driver there? >> i think the biggest driver was the exchange rate the dollar to the euro. it made it really affordable. it was almost one to one six months ago. so that in and of itself has gotten a lot of people and the attention over there. i think the rest of the world, mainly europe, they -- you can get something there that might cost five or ten times more in the states, but over there it's low. i can get a castle for $2 million. i think people's dreams are able to happen now, and since the pandemic, people are like, why am i waiting? i need to do this now. and the prices are right, and the properties are just exceptional. >> scott, this is the curious part for me. a lot of folks on that
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ultra-wealthy range that robert talks about so much, they didn't get there by being dumb with their money, right? real estate at these levels, how much do you think wealthy buyers are looking for a business-like return on their investment opposed to just owning something that they want to own in the luxury part of the market and feel comfortable saying that they live there or have the property? >> well, you brought up a great point. i think the investors, especially the ones that work with us, they are looking for those great deals. i'm talking commercial deals where there's a return for them or distressed property where is they can get them on the lower and cheaper side. i always say that in markets like this, especially the commercial and retail, billionaires are made, because they swoop in and get fantastic deals on them. >> just to close, the number two priority for these people when they buy a house, number one is lifestyle. number two is investment. the number one market in the
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world this year will be aukland, new zealand. beautiful place, beautiful country if you haven't been there. they suffered a big decline, now they are expected to see price increases of over 10% this year. >> that's robert. now scott, in your experience, where is the opportunity? what geography still has hidden value? >> oh, there's hidden value -- i always say the periphery of any market, whether it be los angeles, new york, miami, palm beach, just go out a few miles and you'll get great deals. those are aspirational sellers, and eventually, if this keeps happening, especially in florida, they will be reached. you will have almost the same thing you would have had going in further into town and paying 30%, 40% more. so look on the periphery of every market you're interested in. >> scott dirken and robert frank, thank you both very much for that look into the real
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estate market. coming up on the show, money is pouring back into municipal funds. etfs seeing net inflows for the first week in three. the tax except bonds to buy now, next. and during february, we are celebrating black heritage. here is at&t chief financial officer pascal sharing his story. ♪ ♪ >> the opportunities that come from being a black man in the c-suite are enormous. and so are the responsibilities. i understand that i am the example for others to look to, to inspire, and i have a responsibility to make sure that i am lifting as i climb, providing opportunities for other people who are underrepresented in the c-suite. this thing, it's making me get an ice bath again. what do you mean? these straps are mind-blowing! they collect hundreds of data points like hrv and rem sleep,
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welcome back to "the exchange." rick santelli here, live on the floor of the cboe with a special guest today. dan close and the topic, munis. dan, welcome. what a great trading floor. >> awesome. thank you for having me, rick. >> 2024, a lot of things are different. one of the big differences, especially in the muni space, is the flows are starting to look a little more aggressive. maybe you can tell me what investors are looking at to make it less volatile and more optimistic with regard to inflows. >> we've seen $4.5 billion in inflows this year, which is great, especially given the volatility we saw in 2022, 2023. but i think investors are taking a step back, looking at the tax exempt market and saying i could get more yield on a tax equivalent basis by being in munis than in mortgages, by being in corporates, agencies, and i think they're looking at
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that and say i want to lock in yields right now. we're at the highest level in yields to start the year since 2011. >> this isn't necessarily about an election year, 2024, maybe current tax policy that may change the next several years. just on the surface right now, that tax advantage puts it competitively with corporates. >> that's right. and the tax advantage, it is the eighth wonder of the world. it is truly how we get our infrastructure financed. it's something that really does make a difference. but it is a very high yield when you look at on a tax equivalent basis. if you think taxes are going to go up, the value of the media exemption only goes up. if you think the government will finance she's deficits -- >> what about supply? one of the things that makes me nervous about interest rates going up, which means the price of treasuries may go down, is because we have so much debt. how is that in the muni world? >> it's completely different. we've seen the muni market only
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grow by about 5% cumulatively since 2009. that's less than one half of 1% a year. compare that to treasuries. >> treasuries are a $26 trillion market. >> more bond calls, more bonds being matured. >> what about the fed? everybody is going crazy over whether it's one meeting or another meeting. ultimately, you have people that say maybe they're not going to lower rates at all. we have inflation data tomorrow. how does the fed future with regard to policy effect muni positions now? >> so if you look at the last time we even had a whiff of the fed looking to cut rates, it was really the fourth quarter, 2023. so we keep on telling investors, munis don't need to do much in 2024 to have a very good year, because of these elevated rates. if the fed cuts, three times is what we think it will be in
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2024. we do see a rally, because cash becomes more expensive. >> absolutely. >> you look at what t-bills are yielding, what money market funds are yielding. if they become more expensive, we think investors migrate to munis. >> what about credit risk? the default issue, let's get to that. but with regard to ratings and upgrades and downgrades, what does that look like? >> for the last three years, if you look at moody's, s&p, they have upgraded 4-1. four times more than downgraded. that's just because of all the covid money that's come in. five rounds of covid financing. the last round, the c.a.r.e.s. act, $350 billion came into the municipal market. >> we're running closely out of time. covid money, lots of states and cities look this money. some did good things with it, some not. california is anywhere from $48 to z 60 billion deficit. but illinois is doing good. why is illinois a good place to
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look for potential muni investments? >> illinois is just -- they're on the right path right now. if you look at the state, three years of budget surpluses. they have a rainy day fund for the first time since 2004, more than $2 billion. and the spreads are still there. >> excellent. dan, it's been an enjoyable conversation regarding munis. thank you for joining me. dom, back to you. >> rick, dan, thank you guys very much for that fascinating muni conversation. coming up on this show, streaming systems and shoes. sandals to be exact. we have the action, the story, and the trade on paramount, hb and birkenstock ahead of their results. keep it right here.
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you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers th for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? did we peak your interest? you can get two unlimited lines for just $30 each a month. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible, it's happening. welcome back to the exchange. we are trading content, computers, and clogs in today's earnings exchange with paramount global, hp inc. and birkenstock on deck. here with our trade is courtney
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garcia, senior wealth advisor and cnbc contributor. great to have you here. we will start with paramount. shares are on pace for fourth straight negative week. our own alex sherman reported that they ended takeover talks. a strategic budget could be in the cards as the streaming ads decelerate. courtney, what would you do with paramount? the momentum has been negative. >> i think that is a reason you want to look at this. it is under selling pressure. a lot of the streamers have gone through a tough period. the earnings may not be at the point of the height of linear tv but they are leaning into the streaming services. the key is the sports content. they have nfl rights and march madness through 2030. the way they are bundling the services, they will have additional customer retention rates. it is hard to cancel when you like nickelodeon and you are watching showtime and sports and all of that is together.
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they are leaning into that as a longterm strategy. this is someone who has been burning through cash but they are finally positive in cash flow. they are in the headlines with the m and a activity. you are sewing that fall through but i think it leads to the argument that it is undervalued and maybe something to look for in the long run. >> all right. let's move on to hp inc., the pc maker headed for another positive month. they are writing that a.i. powered computers could bring the market out of its slump. how would we play the kurt hardware side? >> you want to take a look at this. what happened in covid is everyone needed a new computer because we were working from home. it led to a misleading demand picture which fell off of a cliff. there is about a three year cycle on pcs. now everyone needs to up grade. 2024 looks like increased demand
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and that is something that hp will benefit from. we are in the world of artificial intelligence. we will likely need devices that are a.i. equipped. longerterm, that will lead to more demand. this is less than one times sales with 3.8% divdened. it is something you want to take a look at. >> multiple reasons why we want to look at that. finally, birkenstock is up 12% since the october ipo. ubs is focusing on grand strength and direct to consumer sales as the company manages inventory to maintain pricing power. this is a nice chart. how would you trade birkenstock? >> unlike many ipos, this one is profitable and has healthy margins. they have increaseded demand. some millennials are buying more birkenstocks after they were in the barbie movie. i would stay away from it because it trades very
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expensively, four times next year's earnings. we are in an environment where consumers are under pressure with inflation and we are choosing where to spend money. people are shifting to travel and leisure as opposed to goods. i think that will pressure them. with the high multiples, i don't know if that can be justified. >> i have been wearing them since i was in high school as a northern california kid. we have a couple of seconds left. let's talk about the broader markets overall. we are seeing a slew of record highs across not just technology but industrial names, other types of names in the s & p 500. do you feel more constructive on what is happening right now? >> absolutely. this is what we want to see. people have been hopeful after october that we are seeing a market rally broaden out. this is what you want for continuous strength. not just five or seven companies but you want the whole market stronger. you could see a rally going forward. we hit new highs but the new highs are from two years ago and
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they have not gone a lot of anywhere. but we need a broad rally. we will continue to see that as we look forward. >> and just a few seconds left, what is your favorite sector out there right now? >> we are definitely continuing to look at healthcare and small cap. you want to favor some of those things that are at a value but will increase inflation and interest rates go down later this year. >> all right, great to get your thoughts. we will see you soon. >> thank you for having me. >> that does it for the exchange. coming up on power lunch, apple has set out with a tech rally and bank of america seems bullish ahead. that is on the other side of the break. stocks are are near session highs. s & p is about flat on the session, only down 3 points and the dow down 56. keep it here. power lunch is next after this. ♪ voya ♪ there are some things that work better together. like your workplace benefits and retirement savings.
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welcome to power lunch. i'm tyler mathisen. glad you could join us this hour. apple parks the car project and will focus more on a.i. ambitions. will ai features be enough to get people to upgrade their iphones? >> and we continue the look inside the economic ecosystem of healthcare. we are looking at the risky but often profitable wor

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